Billy Idol got the title for "Rebel Yell" from a brand of whiskey he saw members of The Rolling Stones drinking.
Jack & Diane started off as an interracial couple; Mellencamp took race references out of the song at the request of his record company.
The French part in Talking Heads' "Psycho Killer" explains that the killer is going after a girl, like Norman Bates in the movie Psycho.
"Heart of Glass" was Blondie's first foray into disco, which turned off some fans. Debbie Harry said they did it because they "wanted to be uncool."
The video for "Informer" by Snow that ran on MTV was subtitled so viewers could understand what he was saying.
Sweet's hit "Ballroom Blitz" was inspired by an incident in 1973 when the band were performing in Scotland and driven offstage by a barrage of bottles.
Ian talks about his 3 or 4 blatant attempts to write a pop song, and also the ones he most connected with, including "Locomotive Breath."
Bowie's "activist" days of 1964 led to Ziggy Stardust.
Michelob commercials generated hits for Eric Clapton, Genesis and Steve Winwood in the '80s, even as some of these rockers were fighting alcoholism.
Not everyone can be a superhero, but that hasn't stopped generations of musicians from trying to be Superman.
The singer-songwriter Melanie talks about her spiritual awakening at Woodstock, "Brand New Key," and why songwriting is an art, not a craft.
Dan cracked the Top 40 with "Ritual," then went to India and spent 2 hours with the Dalai Lama.